Narendra Modi pledges India’s continued support for Africa

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, says his country will continue to intensify, deepen and sustain engagements with the Africa countries.

Addressing the Ugandan Parliament on India-Africa relations, Modi pledged to prioritise supports to the continent.

The address was streamed live at the Indian High Commission in Abuja, with the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Nigeria-India Relations, Mr Shehu Aliyu, among those in attendance.

Modi said that India’s trade with Africa had exceeded $62 billion, adding that Indian companies had invested more than $54 billion in the continent.

The prime minister also said economic ties with Africa was driven by new partnerships of innovation.

He stressed that India would accord more priorities to the partnership with African countries.

He outlined ten principles that would guide his country’s engagement with Africa.

“Africa will be at the top of our priorities as our development partnership will be guided by your priorities.

“It will be on terms that will be comfortable for you, that will liberate your potential and not constrain your future.

“We will keep our markets open and make it easier and more attractive to trade with India and we will support our industry to invest in Africa.

“We will harness India’s experience with the digital revolution to support Africa’s development; improve delivery of public services; extend education and health; spread digital literacy; expand financial inclusion and mainstream the marginalised.

“We will work with you to improve Africa’s agriculture.

“Our partnership will address the challenges of climate change and we will work with Africa to ensure a just international climate order,’’ Modi said.

According to him, other principles will be to strengthen cooperation in the area of peacekeeping and cybersecurity at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

The Prime Minister also pledged to work with African nations to “keep the oceans open and free for the benefit of all nations.

“As global engagement in Africa increases, we must all work together to ensure the continent becomes a nursery for the aspirations of its youths.

“We will work together for a just, representative and democratic global order that has a voice and a role for one-third of humanity that lives in Africa and India’’.

Speaking with newsmen, Ag. High Commissioner of India to Nigeria, Dr Garika Tejeswar, said the Prime Minister’s address was streamed to relay the Indian Government’s plan for Africa.

According to Tejeswar, the High Commission decided to stream the address because the speech was not only directed at Uganda but spoke to the India-Africa relations as a whole.

In his remarks, Aliyu expressed optimism in enhanced relations between India and Nigeria.

The lawmaker said “India is the largest importer of Nigeria’s oil, purchasing about 30 per cent of her daily production valued at about $10 billion.

“Bilateral trade relations in the non-oil sectors between us has increased substantially from $293.71 million in 1999 to $7.9 billion in the second quarter of 2018, making India the third largest trading partner of Nigeria’’.